BURIED BUILDINGS AS AN EXAMPLE OF ARCHITECTURE THAT STRIVES TO BE ENERGY EFFICIENT

Abstract

This paper studies the concept of underground architecture in residential houses. The earth (soil) is an element that has some very good features that can be used in order to create a building that is more energy efficient. The most important feature is its good insulation capacity and thermal inertia, which results with constant temperature. By making the home underground, can be achieved many advantages - the land used for the construction is not destroyed and taken away from the nature (the greenery is saved), energy consumption is decreased, the building is more protected from outer influences (storm, vibrations, noise, rain, snow, frost...) etc. The underground houses - earth sheltered houses - represent the passive architecture that can be combined with solar architecture. In this way, earth sheltered houses can be in a great manner energy independent and even considered as self-sustainable structures. The aim of this paper is to find out advantages and possible disadvantages of this type of constructions, through the analysis of few constructed buildings, all with the additional aim to promote the integration of natural conditions that can be found at the location in a design of residential architecture.